Taste of Kennesaw Includes 'Iron Chef' Cook-Off

Four high school seniors will be competing onstage at the Taste of Kennesaw on Saturday in an “Iron Chef” style competition to win a $3,000 scholarship to a college of their choosing to study culinary arts or restaurant management.

The competition is being hosted and organized by Mike Schroeder, managing partner of Carrabba’s on Barrett Parkway, the Kennesaw Business Association and current president of the association, Laura Ann Hart, and her committee.

Carrabba’s is donating $2,000 and the business association $1,000 toward the scholarship, an announcement said.

The purpose of the competition, organizers said, is "to support and inspire students to pursue their dreams of becoming a chef or owning their own restaurant; to give back to our local community and invest in our youth."

The four students, from Cobb County Area Five High Schools, were chosen out of 22 applicants to compete in the one-hour cook-off. Students have to create an original recipe to cook for the judges. They will be preparing an entrée and a side dish for the judging. The students: Deja Simon, Dallas Chapman and Jeffrey Licciardello, all from Allatoona High School, and Zachary Burris of Kennesaw Mountain High School.

Chef Heather Espinoza, a graduate of Johnson & Wales University, College of Culinary Arts, has been mentoring the students and helping them perfect their recipes for the past two weeks. Chef Heather is currently a personal chef who focuses on providing good, wholesome and nutritious meals that will fit individual needs, the announcement said.

Susan Rutledge, culinary arts teacher at Kennesaw Mountain, and Lacey Pitts, culinary arts teacher at Allatoona High, have been instrumentally involved with helping prepare the students for competition.

Competition times:
1st session of cook-off, 11 a.m.-noon
Students Cooking: Zachary Burris and Jeffrey Licciardello

1 p.m.-2 p.m
Students Cooking: Dallas Chapman and Deja Simon

The winner is announced at 2:45 p.m. Radio personality Donna Rodriguez of "The Dishing with Donna Show" is the emcee.